Nursing Jade
by ScottyBgood
Summary: Established Jori. Jade's sick, and Tori's out of town. Who's gonna watch over the ailing goth? Find out what some people do for family. One shot. I don't own, just borrow.


Disclaimer: I don't own, and get nothing from it but reviews.

:}

"Jade, if your sick, go home." Sikowitz scolded the dark haired girl. It wasn't hard to tell the girl was sick. She looked sick. As much as she'd worked to make herself presentable, she had that paler complexion, sniffles, a runny nose, and in general looked worn down. In many ways, she could pass as a newly risen zombie.

"Not until everyone I don't like has been infected." Jade shot back, but lacked the mischievous smile she should have had.

"I'm going to ask Dickers to send you home." The quirky teacher informed the goth. "I can't have you infecting the entire school."

"Okay, I'll go. Just as soon as I sneeze over the cafeteria. I already licked most of the surfaces in the grub truck." Jade smirked as she spoke, and the students suddenly questioned what they'd be eating for lunch.

"I thought she was supposed to be nicer, now that she's kinda dating Tori." Beck grumbled. He'd been the one to break himself and Jade up, but the otherwise nice boy still stung that Jade hadn't come back to him this time.

"She hasn't tried to sneeze on me today." Robbie pointer out, letting them know he felt things had improved. "Well, she hasn't..."

"Tori's off to that music event in Vegas." Andre reminded everyone. "Won't be back for a few days."

"So she just goes wild?" Beck chose to ignore Robbie, who was now busy trying to help Cat hide her stuffies. The goth had already tried to wipe her nose with the round stuffed pig.

"You dated her." Andre reminded his friend. "Jade was like this back then too."

"I said she was supposed to have improved." Beck reminded the musician. "But I see your point. Just with me, I usually had to actively try to rein her in, but with Tori, Jade waits for her to be at some event before going hog wild." He took a deep breath. "Jade, go home. I can't remember you being this bad."

"I'm just having a little fun. Sharing the wealth." The goth chortled as she plotted where to spread her disease next.

"Jade, you're going home before you start an epidemic." Sikowitz decreed.

"But thats the point." The goth protested.

"Too bad Tori's not here to make her go." Andre lamented.

"Wait, Tori's gone, and Jade's going home, right?" Cat asked, looking strangely happy. "That makes me the top actress at school." She declared.

"Cat!" Jade's eyes bore a hole through her friend. "Give me your stuffies. Mister Purple, and hurry. I feel a sneeze coming on."

"Jade, go." Saikowitz commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"So, how am I supposed to behave as I rule my kingdom?" Cat's voice was fading as Jade made her way to the office.

"For some reason, Sikowitz thinks I'm too sick for school." Jade informed the secretary. "Wheres the nurse….?" A pass for the day, and the rest of the week, was already being handed to her. Her name was neatly typed on it, with only the date and signature written in pen along the appropriate places.

"If you miss more then a few days, we'll need a doctors note." The secretary blankly informed her. "But Dickers said you're good until next Monday. Just.. go."

Jade snagged her pass and started walking out of the school. "Don't you want to call someone?" The secretary's voice overtook her, only to fade as the distance between them grew.

Jade had chosen not to answer. 'Not gonna tell them that no one is there for me.' Jade reminded herself. "Don't want their pity. Pity makes me weak." Her voice was low, her words meant for only herself, but she spoke them anyways to give herself the motivation to keep walking.

Jade didn't bother going to the parking lot to retrieve her car. She didn't drive that morning. The medications she was on, just to function, made her too drowsy to drive. Instead, she took the buss home, wondering if maybe she could be patient zero. 'Nahh, I'm not that sick. But it would be so cool…' A dark smile crossed her face.

The buss ride home was quick, quiet, with none of the usual freaks or weirdo's you read about infecting the buss system. Jade wasn't sure if it was a good thing, with her being too weak to be really intimidating, or a bad thing, since she would love to have infected a few of that type. The idea of them being to sick, physically ill, to practice their mental sickness made her chuckle. 'Too sick to be sick...' That lasted seconds, until the driver informed her they were at her stop. She'd drifted off into a half asleep state that gave her neither any awareness of what was around her, nor the benefits of being asleep. Groggily she got her stuff and headed off the bus. An old woman checked her seat to make sure the sick young woman hadn't let anything behind, but even medicated as she was, Jade was just thorough enough to get everything.

There was still the three block walk from the bus stop to her home, all of it somehow uphill. Jade trudged on, not letting the distance bother her nearly as much as the disease in her body was, all while plotting random acts of revenge. 'That lady, right there, one of these days she's gonna wake up and find her cat shaved. And that one, up the hill, I think I'll past the extra cat hair on her oh so precious hairless mutant cat.' She needed to keep her creativity flowing, her mind working, to distract her from the dread of knowing no one would be there when she got home.

Even her girlfriend was out of communication, but that was a good thing. The event was to meet the high ups in the music industry, so Tori was expected to be busy the entire time she was there. 'The best I can expect is a call from Cat, or maybe Beck, sometime in the next two days.'

Once home, Jade set her mind to the task of making herself something to eat. Problem was, the medications she was on were wearing off, and she believed she was likely to fall asleep before she could properly cook anything. 'And now I'm aching again.' She noted. 'Just gonna go to bed. Maybe I'll sleep, or die in my sleep. Either way, I just need to rest.' She headed towards her room, once again wondering at the unfairness of her living on the second floor, after that long painful walk from the bus stop.

The goth woke up to the sound of someone calling her name. "Jade, wake up. I made you some soup. I've got soup, and bread, and medications to make you feel better."

The goths confused eyes opened, slowly focusing on the female form standing next tot he bed. For the briefest of moments, she reminded herself that her mother didn't care enough to make her soup, before she recognized the form as Trina. "What are you doing here, and how'd you get in." Jade growled. The phlegm in her throat made the sound even more intimidating. Part of her liked that.

"Sinjin let me in." The older girl said. "I sent him home after. I think it's weird that he knew were you keep the spare key. As for why I'm here, someone needs to look after you. You may not know this, but your temperature is one hundred and three. I almost called the doctor. Now eat. After, I'm going to put a wet cloth on your head."

"Ew, no." Jade shook her head. "I don't sweat, and I don't want my flesh wet."

"You do sweat, which is a good thing. Otherwise, you'd be in big trouble." Trina informed her. "Now eat, so we can try to break the fever. What are you taking for this?"

"Dayquil." Jade said.

"And your fever is still that high?" Trina asked.

"It's probably worn off." Jade guessed. "And I've been laying here, in bed. That makes the temperature rise."

"If you weren't dating Tori..." Trina grumbled. "Okay, eat the bread too. It'll help calm your tummy."

Jade ate what she could, then settled down into her bed. "Not so fast." Trina stopped her. "Change into pajamas first. I don't think either of us wants you in your school cloths. Need help?"

"You wish." Jade snapped, but got up and wobbled over to her drawers to get her sleepwear.

"Nahh, that's Tori." Trina said, confident in herself. "We want you comfortable. But we may need to put you in a cold bath, if the fever doesn't break soon."

Jade ignored her, mostly because she needed to concentrate to get changed. She honestly couldn't remember when balancing, to take something off or put something on, was so hard. Also, her resent meal was threatening to come back out. Somehow she managed to keep it down and finish getting dressed for bed. When she got back, Trina tucked her in, gave her a dose of medicine, and placed the wet cloth on her head. "If this doesn't work, I'll be putting ice packs in various places. Now get under the covers and get warm." The older Latina directed her.

"Warm, cold, make up your mind." Jade snapped, but she lacked venom. Her body ached, and she just wanted it to end. The food in her system was still threatening to make a mess of her room, so Trina gave her a trash can and something to put over it if she threw up, to hold the smell down. Then Jade drifted, cold on her forehead, and sleep once again claimed her, bring with it her first release from the pain.

Jade would sleep for a while, and when she woke up, Trina would be there to give her more meds, and/or food. This went on for a few stretches of what were probably prolonged naps. It was strange, being around Trina for this long, alone, and not feeling like she wanted to vomit. In fact, the medications seem to be working, because that feeling had actually decreased.

"I'm off to school." Trina told the girl. "I don't like the idea of you being alone for six to eight hours, so I'm having a friend drop by to take care of you. Don't worry, she's nice." Jade didn't respond. She didn't know how to.

'Hell, I didn't know Trina had friends.' She mused, but only long enough to let herself drift off to sleep again. It was easier then worrying about who might be checking in on her. Hours slowly drifted by, with someone moving around during most of it. But Jade managed to sleep, or watch a movie, and even took the medications, with food, that were left for her. Only once did she see Beck's cleaning lady.

Later, after school let out, Trina was back. "How're you feeling?" She asked, not looking like she cared.

"Better." Jade admitted. "You can go."

"Lets see." Trina said, getting the thermometer and taking the younger girls temperature. "It looks like the medications working, cause your fevers down. Thats good."

"Like I said, you can go now." Jade emphasized. "We both know you'd rather be anywhere else."

"Nope." The older girl smirked. "I'm not convinced the fever isn't coming back. Now go to bed. I'll have some soup for you later. And eat the damn bread."

Jade didn't argue, instead heading back to her room and the warm bed waiting for her. Beck's cleaning lady had changed the sheets while she was in the bathroom, so the whole thing felt fresh and clean. Jade just got comfortable under the sheets, and thought about what she'd say to Tori when the other girl got back. 'Man, I hope things go well for her. This could be the last step in her being signed.' The goth reminded herself, enjoying the feeling of rooting for someone. 'But I'm still chewing her ass off for sending that monster of a sister to watch over me.' Again, the venom in her thoughts was lacking, since being taken care of helped mellow her, except when it made her feel weak.

Later, as Trina was getting ready to leave, she walked up to check on Jade one more time. "You're fever broke. Thats good. If it hadn't, I'd have had to call the doctor, and that would have been a bit more messy. So, yea, good." With a deep breath, she moved a step closer to the no longer ailing goth. "But I did have one more thing to discuss. Do you know why I took care of you?'

"Your sister begged or badgered you into taking care of me." Jade said, feeling just a touch of resentment. She both loved and hated that Tori would take care of her, but mostly she hated that this untalented girl was there watching over her. Jade didn't like having Tori owe Trina anything, just for taking care of her.

"Tori doesn't know your sick yet." Trina corrected her. "I know you didn't tell her so she could do well at that show, and I followed suit. No, I took care of you cause Tori is my sister. We may not show it often, but we take care of one another. It's always been that way. And now that your dating her, I feel I had to keep you as healthy as possible. Now, we don't need to tell Tori this. But if you do bring it up, make sure to point out that your parents haven't been home in days."

"What are you saying?' Jade queried.

"Just that, unless you want Tori sticking her nose into your family business, we don't need her to know I'm willing to do this for people." Trina explained. "I only do this for the people I feel will be with Tori for a while, and are worth having around. I know you'll keep her safe when I'm not around."

Jade was floored by Trina's statement. "You know, this doesn't mean I like you." The younger girl said, almost out of habit.

"Like I expected anything to change." The older girl said, smirking. "Just, you have the weekend, then school. When you go back, tell them anything you want, but feel free to leave my name out of things. They'd never understand anyways. Just, I'm hoping you do. Understand, that is."

Trina was almost to the door, about ready to leave the house and go home, when jade's voice stopped her. "Trina..." The raven haired girl called. As Trina looked back, she added "Thanks. For taking care of me. Thanks.' Her voice, and her resolve, both faded.

"Like I said, I did this for Tori." Trina repeated. "Now make my efforts worth it." With that, she was gone, and Jade was left with a major decision to make.

Jade put a movie on and watched, waiting for the inevitable call to check in on her, wondering if Trina handled them. A quick look at her phone confirmed that no one, not even Beck, had called to see how she was doing. That hurt, to the point where she felt she had to send a text, letting everyone know she was okay. 'Sorry, Trina, but I'm not that fake.' She thought as she wrote the text. 'I can't go on just ignoring you, pretending you don't exists until you force your way into my life. I may never be grateful, but someone sure as hell better be.' She hit send, and the text (Or texts, since she had only one hundred and sixty characters) was out.

To: Tori, Robbie, Beck, Cat, Andre, and theSlap.

 _Wanted everyone to know my fever broke and I'll be back at school Monday._

 _Special thanks to Trina Vega for taking care of me when everyone else, my parents included, ignored my 103 temperature._

Then she waited, and wondered who would be the first to call. 'Bet it's Cat, cause she'd normally never let something like this slip by. But it could be Vega, Tori, cause she didn't even know I was sick.' The goth smiled and sent an email to the school, asking for her missed assignments so she could use what was left of the weekend to make up her missed work. 'Monday is gonna be interesting.' She decided, as she start plotting, just to fill the time before things started to happen, and people started reacting. Her eyes raked her room. 'Now what do I have thats still contagious, cause I have a lunchroom to infect.'

:}

Found this, added a bit, and now I give it to you to think about. I loved Jade in the first part of this.

So, thoughts? I'd love to hear what you have to say, and they gave us that lovely review button. Press it, it's calling out to you. Just write something first, or the system will star making fun of you, and with me it insulted my… lets just say it got personal, so for your own sense of well being, review, but write something first.

Now how many people will just write "Something"?


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